Filming Locations:

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Trivia:

While picking through Dr. Brandes' trash, Mother holds up a folded box of "Cap'n Crunch". In the 1970s, "Cap'n Crunch" came with a small whistle in the box. A "phone phreaker" called "Captain Crunch" (John Draper) discovered that this whistle could be used to get free phone calls (one of many components in the practice of "phone phreaking", which digital phone switching-systems has made almost totally obsolete). There is another reference to Draper during the Scrabble game (the word "CRUNCH" is visible upside down before it gets turned into SCRUNCHY). Also, Cosmo tells Martin that, while in prison, he helped some Mafia men to make some "free telephone calls." Whistler is patterned after Joe Engressia, a blind telephone expert born with perfect pitch who was one of the original phone phreakers.See more »

Goofs:

Continuity: When Whistler is driving the van, one of the headlights gets smashed, yet is operational in a subsequent shot.See more »

Sneakers is still fun to watch after 12 years and it was a great look at the
time in which it was made. 12 years ago, the Cold War just ended and nobody
was really sure how things were going to shape up geopolitically. Sneakers
captured that mood perfectly and kept things tense with the soundtrack,
locations and set work.

It's got the best balance of technical accuracy verses ease of viewing that
I've ever seen on film. Not too many cartoon-like computer interfaces but
no staring for minutes at a time at command line interfaces. Sneakers also
gets points for being in the Bay Area and traveling among places that I
visit every day (Hills Brother Coffee Building for the 'box drop' and the
Dumbarton Bridge - for starters). Actors have fun with their roles although
it's obvious that Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley and James
Earl Jones are not delivering their A-Game. It doesn't matter, it doesn't
make it any less fun to watch. I like Phil Alden Robinson's camera
movements; don't forget to look for the long, low slide across the Scrabble
pieces right in a pivotal moment of the plot.

The movie still retains some relevance today. Ben Kingsley offers that gem
" world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who
controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we
think... it's all about the information!" gains some credibility especially
in the face of the post-9/11 news reporting on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
Trash-diving is still a viable option to gain information on your opponent
and social engineering will always work to help you gain some
information.

Sneakers is still one of the best mainstream treatments on the subject of
hacking. Watch, learn, enjoy.

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